Violent Doncaster robber jailed for 11 years

A Doncaster man who attacked a teenage boy in his own home before breaking into a couple’s house and assaulting a man with an axe has been jailed.

Andrew Shaw, 35, of Parklands Close, smashed a window to break into a property in Dunscroft on the night of 4 December 2022.

Once inside, he demanded money and attacked a 15-year-old boy who was left with a black eye and forced to hide in a cupboard until his mother returned home.

She then chased Shaw out of the property, with the defendant stealing around £3,000 worth of items, including an iPhone and two pieces of Swarovski jewellery.

A day later on 5 December, Shaw broke into a couple’s home in Rossington armed with an axe. The defendant and an accomplice, who was carrying a knife, entered the property, with Shaw swinging the axe at a man who suffered a small injury to his arm.

Shaw demanded the victim hand over money and when he refused, he told the man wielding a knife to stab him. The pair then searched the house before the man bravely managed to apprehend Shaw’s accomplice and get the two men out of the property.

When he was outside the house, Shaw continued to make violent threats and smashed a kitchen window before fleeing in a silver VW Polo with £30 worth of tobacco and £11.70 of cigarettes.

Officers located the Polo after it crashed into a fence, with Shaw later found hiding in a nearby outbuilding. Shaw pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery and possession of a bladed article at an earlier hearing.

He was jailed for eleven-and-a-half years following a sentencing hearing at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday 16 August.

PC Sam Fowler, the investigating officer for the case, said: "Shaw’s crimes caused considerable distress and alarm to a couple and a young boy who should have been safe in their own homes.

"His despicable crimes were aggravated by him carrying a dangerous weapon which he used to inflict injuries on a man who acted valiantly to defend his partner and his home.

"We are pleased that Shaw has been jailed for a considerable length of time and we will continue to endeavour to protect our communities. Let this be a reminder that if you commit these offences, we will do all we can to ensure you go to prison."

Andrew Shaw